The present invention relates to a method and a device for controlling a control element, particularly an injection-timing device of a high-pressure fuel pump, in an open loop. A method and a device for controlling such a control element in closed loop are known, for example, from German Patent No. 41 05 740 (U.S. Pat. No. 5,085,190), which describes a method and a device for the closed-loop control of a control element that influences the start of injection of a high-pressure fuel pump.
Digital feedback control circuits, which are used in particular for controlling such a control element, operate in precisely specified time slices in accordance with the requirements of the controlled system to be regulated. The smaller the selected time slice, the more dynamic, precise and stable the design of the closed feedback control circuit can be.
However, as the time slice is reduced, the need for computing power is simultaneously increased. From this standpoint, there are limits to reducing the time intervals of the recalculation.